Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2013

Upstate New York Farmers, Businesses and Organizations Bring Local Flavors to All-Day Music Festival

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farm Aid 2013 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Sept. 21 will bring together an all-star lineup and more than 25,000 fans to shine a spotlight on the need for good food that family farms provide us all. From interactive, hands-on workshops in the HOMEGROWN Village to family farm food served at all concessions stands through Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Concessions®.

Upstate New York farmers, businesses and nonprofit organizations are pitching in to make sure this year's Farm Aid benefit concert provides concertgoers with family farm experiences that are distinctly New York. Local farmers and companies will help Farm Aid bring family farm-sourced ingredients to HOMEGROWN Concessions®. Local and regional farm groups will present interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN Village, engaging concertgoers in the work family farmers do to protect our communities, our environment and our health. Concertgoers can pitch in too, by supporting a food drive at Farm Aid 2013 to support those in need.

GrowNYC's HOMEGROWN Youthmarket will sell fresh fruit from local farms, cider and baked goods. Sales at the stand will be conducted by youth from NYC as well as local FFA youth.

A Taste NY tent will offer craft beer, wine and hard cider to showcase products made in New York with New York ingredients.

Culinary students fromSchenectady County Community Collegewill work in backstage catering.

Farm Aid is partnering with The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York to help meet the needs of the hungry across the region by collecting non-perishable food items from concertgoers at the main entrances to SPAC. Concertgoers can bring non-perishable food and non-food items that are in boxes, cans or plastic bottles (no glass). Suggested donation items include canned tuna and protein, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, hearty cold weather meals like stew and soup, and peanut butter. Non-food items, such as personal hygiene products and bathroom tissue, are also needed. The Regional Food Bank has excellent support from farmers and producers throughout its 23-county service area, and also operates its own vegetable farm through the Patroon Land Foundation. Learn more at http://regionalfoodbank.net/.

Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village (from noon to 6:00 p.m.) will feature hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, dig in and learn about the ways family farmers are growing good food for all of us. From soil enrichment, renewable energy, meet-and-greets with local veterans-turned-farmers, to testing their knowledge about farming and trying their luck on "Is the Price Right?," concertgoers can learn more about the roots of their food and the people who raise it. This year's HOMEGROWN stage will also feature two live bands, Will Dailey and The Parlor.

In the HOMEGROWN Skills Tent, concert-goers can learn agrarian skills such as curing bacon, growing mushrooms, making cheese, crafting friendship bracelets from llama wool, and much more.

Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN foodservice promotes a least-waste food service protocol. All compostable waste at the concert will be turned into valuable agricultural material to improve the health of the soil. A sizeable volunteer effort will be on hand to help concertgoers differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables like plastic, and compostables, such as food waste and compostable foodservice-ware.

Local New York farmers will be featured on the video screen on the main stage. While Farm Aid established the on-stage video screen in 2009, the organization made huge strides this year to ensure that the photos depicted on the screen throughout the day are mostly from farms and farmers in NY. Farm Aid worked with a number of photographers to shoot and obtain these photos to reflect the farmers and agriculture of upstate New York.

The Farm Aid 2013 webcast, "Farm Aid 2013 Live Presented by Amy's Kitchen," will air Saturday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 11 p.m. EDT at farmaid.org. The webcast will feature artist performances and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Farm Aid 2013, including interviews with artists, farmers and fans; demonstrations from the HOMEGROWN Village; a look at Farm Aid's signature HOMEGROWN Concessions®; and a peek backstage, showcasing what it takes to produce this major music, food and farming festival.

Farm Aid introduced the first-ever official festival app earlier this month. The app is available for iPhone and Android devices. It allows users to view the entire Farm Aid 2013 schedule, and add artists, workshops, and artist briefings to make their own personal schedule for the day. Users can find out where they're going with the festival map, check out the HOMEGROWN food and drink offerings, read about the interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN Village, and learn about our Farmer Heroes. Users can even take and post photos, tweet and share their Farm Aid experience with their friends.

Farm Aid's #Road2FarmAid social media campaign is off and running on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social media users are including the #Road2FarmAid tag on social media posts to connect with people who are celebrating family farm agriculture and growing the Good Food Movement. The #Road2FarmAid is a journey that doesn't end on Sept. 21; it tells the stories of all of the different people working toward a greater vision for our farm and food system.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $43 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.